>>> Part 3 of 9...
Other smokers also experience inspiration from the wacky weed. One
elementary school teacher claims marijuana induces in him "a calmer,
more objective and philosophical perspective. Some of my most
creative ideas for curriculum and practical problem-solving come to
me while stoned," he says.
Nick Herbert, a 59-year-old Boulder Creek resident and author of
_Quantum Reality_, says that although he finds it impossible to write
when he's stoned, he does consider marijuana a "channel to the muse.
I go to the beach and smoke marijuana, look at the ocean and get in
touch with that space [where] there's less censorship of my thoughts.
A lot of my best ideas have come from that experience."
Other adult pot smokers, including a controller for a Silicon Valley
computer company, an ad designer and a technical assistant, claim
that marijuana can increase their productivity at work - especially
for rote tasks. "I'm more able to talk to people, to train people.
I'm able to go with the flow," says Rose, 37. Compared to an average
production output on her assembly line of 99 percent, Rose says that
when stoned she's "able to perform 110 percent yield, even as high as
125 percent."
These are eyebrow-raising claims to anyone who has never smoked
marijuana, or who has smoked with less stellar results. These smokers
belie the commonly held notion that marijuana packs some kind of an
inevitable, destructive punch.
Ours is a society that is uncomfortable with the notion that
something can be gotten for nothing - that a self-indulgent pleasure
can be had without penance. According to Hoover Institution fellow
McNamara - whose doctoral dissertation at Harvard traced the origins
of the drug war - marijuana is viewed by much of the public as
"sinful" or "evil." "It goes back to our puritanical roots in England.
I have heard one promoter of the drug war - which began as a
religious war - say that if you do drugs [like marijuana] you'll lose
your 'soul'," he says. Yet the same society tolerates an alcohol-
consumption level nearly tenfold that of marijuana, a fact that
McNamara bemoans as "sheer hypocrisy. ... Millions and millions of
Americans drink alcohol, including myself, and we get "high", we get,
er, 'pleasant.' "
Steve Dnistrian, vice president of Partnership for a Drug Free
America, says that staff members at Partnership drink alcohol - so,
apparently, some degree of intoxication is permissible, as long as it
is "responsible." Long-term, working pot smokers raise the
uncomfortable proposition that marijuana use *can* be responsible.
You can smoke the stuff and still hang on to your soul. "Certainly
marijuana is far less harmful than alcohol or cigarettes. Almost
any physician can tell you that," McNamara asserts.
Burn Out
Certainly, some would testify that pot smoking is not universally
innocuous. At a recent Marijuana Anonymous meeting in the basement of
a Saratoga church, a group of about 20 men and women ranging in age
from 15 to over 50 is cast about on saggy couches and mismatched
chairs. This is one of seven MA groups that gather every week in
Santa Clara County. There are even three groups that meet each week
in Santa Cruz County - Hempland, U.S.A.
It's clear that these people have not had good experiences with
marijuana and that many have become at least emotionally addicted.
The young man who opens group discussion on this foggy Friday night
claims he used to buy an eighth of an ounce of pot a day - about a
month's supply for more moderate users. "I couldn't do anything
without smoking dope. I was a slave to the substance," he says,
adding that his math and analytical skills eroded when he smoked.
"It wasn't until I stopped using and the fog cleared that I noticed
changes. I'm doing better now."
Reformed addicts tend to eye current users with some suspicion.
"The recovery people seem to feel there is no place for this in
anyone's life and if you enjoy this you must have some unsettled
problems," writes a general contractor and busted pot grower assigned
by the courts to a "recovery program."
Yet the ostensible purpose of 12-step programs like MA is to help
people who have *addictions*. One thing that draws addicts to this
group is a collective strength and camaraderie some have not found
elsewhere. The meeting seems to compensate for the loss of the drug's
former comfort and companionship. Listen to David, in a radio
interview: "When I went to my first meeting at MA, I fell in love
with it. When I went to MA, I knew I was home. I've been a regular
every since."
MA groups cater to those for whom drug use "causes problems in their
lives," says MA member Kevin during a phone interview. Reflecting on
this, he says, "I do think there are people out there who can use it
okay, and it doesn't interfere with their lives. We call them
'normies.' Those people are not addicts."
Marijuana is perhaps as susceptible to abuse as to responsible use,
like most drugs - and, as one smoker points out, even food or sex.
Rowan Robinson writes in _The Great Book of Hemp_ that "Cannabis ...
tends to amplify qualities that were already present in the user."
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